The phrase “lunch bucket” has a deeply rooted meaning tied to hard work and grit.
It's about grabbing your lunch bucket, hard hat and giving it everything.
If there is one player on the North Bay Battalion who exemplifies the term "Lunch Bucket Hockey" it is 19-year-old forward Nolan Laird.
"I've used a term around here as identity, just somebody that does the little things that don't always show up in the score sheet that you need to do in order to win a hockey game," said Ryan Oulahen, Battalion head coach.
"Glue Guy," is a more common term these days for a player like Nolan Laird.
In 45 games, the hard working Port Perry product has recorded seven goals and three assists for 10 points.
"Nolan's usually doing that night in and night out. and then when he shows up in a score sheet, it's like even bonus because he's kind of that glue, that 'rah rah' guy," explains Oulahen.
"He's the music guy in the locker room. He's a guy that kind of keeps everything together and brings a lot of energy on a daily basis, so really happy for him and he's got some underrated skill, you know, he's done it a lot, minor hockey growing up. If we can get him lighting the lamp, even more, that'd be a good thing for us."
But life has never been easy for the second year Battalion forward. As a rookie, Laird only played 25 games recording one goal and one assist for two points in 2023-24. That meant a lot of games watching from the stands.
"Just learning from older guys that were before me and we had a wagon of a team last year," said Laird.
"There's a lot of guys to look up to and I always just went with the mentality to put your head down and get back to work and your time will come."
Laird says one of the players he kept a close eye on last season was Dallas Stars prospect Justin Ertel.
"I try and model a game after a guy like Justin Ertel; just his physicality, doing all the dirty work, but has a scoring in touch and can help on both sides of the ice as well."
Laird believes highlight reel goals may be few and far between but he believes throwing big hits and blocking shots gets the fans and his teammates out of their seats too.
"You need to be doing that kind of stuff to win, so we think if we keep playing the way we are, we'll have a good shot and try and crack a playoff spot," said Laird.